Images indicate Galaxy Z Fold 6 may have a built-in mechanism for housing S Pen
With rivals like OnePlus and Google now selling foldable phones, Samsung has lost the advantage it had in the early days of foldables. Although the South Korean giant makes one of the best foldable smartphones around, its devices have some of their luster due to the greater number of available options. Unless Samsung figures out a way to differentiate its offerings, it might lose its market lead. And it appears that the company has found a way to make the Galaxy Z Fold 6 more appealing.
We are several months away from the announcement of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 but some leaks have already popped up about the device. The device is rumored to have the same camera setup as the Fold 5, which was lifted from the Fold 4.
Samsung is trying to bring dust resistance to the Fold 6 but no promises have been made. And the phone will apparently have a thinner profile, which means there won't be any space for a slot for the S Pen, right? The phone may still have a home for the S Pen though.
One of the things that make the Galaxy Z Fold 5 stand out is stylus support. And unlike OnePlus, Samsung is not shy about promoting it. The only thing that hampers the experience is that, unlike the Galaxy S23 Ultra, the Fold 5 doesn't have a slot for the S Pen and the only way to easily carry around the stylus is to buy a special case.
Samsung thought about including a slot for the S Pen on the Fold 5 but decided against it as the company didn't want to compromise on battery life. Foldable phones need to be thinner than conventional phones so there is more space constraint. The company also considered a thinner stylus but feared that this would impact the writing experience.
According to a patent spotted by xleaks7, the Fold 6 may let you attach the stylus to the back or side of the device. As Studimo reports, Samsung doesn't want to make its future foldable phones bulky by adding a stylus slot, so including a mechanism to enable it to be perched on the outside seems like the way to go.
It won't be as secure as having a slot though and it remains to be seen where the stylus will stay adhered to the device when it's in your pocket or your bag.
The report also says that the stylus may have multiple buttons for more interaction options.
Not all patents are indicators for what's to come and just because Samsung is exploring an idea doesn't mean it will make it into the final product.
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